Substance and drug misuse

This area of service involves offering support to people who use drugs or alcohol problematically or who have addiction-related needs. The key issues faced by many service users include loss of employment, marriage or family breakdown, poor health, social isolation, poor or insecure accommodation and criminal justice involvement. By the time clients are referred to us they have often experienced many ‘losses’, which some describe as ‘hitting rock bottom’. 

A social worker’s role involves carrying out needs assessments following referrals, in order to identify service users’ needs and to establish motivations for becoming abstinent from drugs or alcohol. The aim is to help the service user move on to treatment in residential rehabilitation. Individuals’ needs are reviewed throughout their treatment programmes and aftercare support is set up to help them in recovery. Assessments will often identify complex and multiple needs – for example social workers often intervene in the lives of service users who are homeless or who have dually diagnosed needs, where mental ill health and substance misuse are inter-related. Social workers will also need to work closely with the carers and families of service users, offering them support where necessary.

Shoptalk

Residential drug and alcohol ‘rehabs’ provide an invaluable service to many people with addiction problems, often helping to completely rebuild and structure broken lives. The problem faced by many local authorities around the country is having enough money in their community care budgets to allocate funds for rehab treatment. The government must invest more money to ensure that all local authorities have sufficient funds to pay for drug and alcohol rehabilitation.

Skills required

• Sensitivity, empathy and compassion.
• A down-to-earth and nonjudgemental attitude.
• A mature outlook.
• The ability to network and liaise with other professionals.
• Good written and recording skills for producing paperwork.

Starting out

New social workers might begin with carrying out social needs ssessments, and shadowing and co-working cases. However, with support, a newly qualified worker would quickly gain responsibility for his or her own caseload. 

In brief

• Best bits
  When a service user who has lost everything to drugs goes on to rebuild his or her life with our help.
• Worst bits
  Some cases can be harrowing, particularly when children are involved.
• Don’t bother if... 
  ...you have little patience or compassion. 
  ...you have a narrow view of life.